When I was 17, my high school teachers told me I would never be a star.

I say teachers, with an "s," because I was told this more than once, by more than one teacher. It was a rhetoric I heard all throughout my long, agonizing high school years from peers, teachers, and the people who surrounded me. The reason being was my dreams were too big and my spirit was way too loud. I was honest about my passions and clear about my vision. I was candid about what I saw for myself and vocal about my convictions, and people hated me for that.

"Who does she think she is? She'll never be on television" and "She's not talented. She's can't even sing" were the constant whisperings I heard in the hallway.

High school taught me that people become afraid when they notice you dreaming outside the lines of their reality. They start to dislike you when they can't relate to you. It scares them to imagine that you could exist in a world of possibility, wonder and magic.

It scares people to feel like your dreams are bigger than they are.

I wanted to write a piece for Seventeen.com that detailed exactly what I needed to hear when I was seventeen years old. My high school years created a burning passion within me to speak to young girls who have been made to feel unworthy of the dream that was put inside their heart, just like I was. I have a desire to speak to young women who believed the hate, and have dimmed their light just to make others feel better.

Katie Yu/The CW

I have an ever-present need to speak to young women who are playing small because they have been told that they are not good enough. Their dreams have been laughed at, mocked and disregarded. They have been silenced with accusations of being "too loud" and "too bold" and "too much."

I am here to tell that is a lie.

The truth is, you ARE good enough, you have always BEEN good enough, and you already HAVE what it takes to accomplish anything you set your mind to. You have every right to claim all that you are and all that you plan to be, loudly and confidently - so get out of your own way and DO IT.

Sade Adeyina/Seventeen.com

If there is a calling inside of your soul that drives you, that motives you to wake up every morning – it is your purpose, and it WILL come into fruition. There is no ceiling. I beg of you not to be limited by the limited imaginations of the people around you.

I am writing this to let you know that the little voice inside of you that screams "YOU ARE SPECIAL" is real. You are not crazy to believe in the magic of your dreams. The burning passion that you feel inside your soul has not been placed there by coincidence or happenstance. It is your spiritual compass will lead you straight to your purpose if you allow it.

For me, I wanted to use my gifts of singing and acting to make change. I wanted to inspire others and break down barriers by doing the very thing that brought me joy. If I had believed the words of my teachers and peers over the voice of my soul, I would not be on one of America's biggest television shows right now.

I spent a great deal of my young adulthood fighting. Not physically, but mentally. I was constantly fighting the mental shackles that were placed upon me by the people around. Every single day I walked the halls in terror and anxiety, knowing what they thought of me. I knew that I would have to be ready to defend my dreams at any moment. I knew I would have to justify and explain and tell them exactly why I wasn't crazy to want more for myself.

Sade Adeyina/Seventeen.com

I can remember sitting in class every day and daydreaming about what my reality would look like because I knew that if I could see it in my mind, I could make it my reality. I would write stories to myself about what happened "on set" or my dreams of L.A. as I sat in math class. I would close my eyes and hear the voice of a director say "And – ACTION!"

I did this every day.

Becoming a pussycat has confirmed to me that the first step in true success is persistence and relentless vision. You must speak proudly about your dreams and goals even when your voice quakes and your palms sweat, which for me was often. You must train your mind to become unafraid of the desires that scream inside of you, the voice that tells you, "You are here for something. You are supposed to do this."

My reality is not a coincidence. This is not happenstance or luck. I decided to believe that voice and I did not question that voice when others told me otherwise.

To my dreamers, I want you to know that the first step in becoming a star is to first become the star of your OWN life. You must walk directly in your light when others tell you to turn it off. You must fight for your dreams — for your purpose — and stop at the expense of nothing.

I always knew in my heart: I was HERE. And if I was here, it was for a REASON. I believe the same to be true about you. You ARE a star, and what I wish I could've told myself at 17 is that it doesn't matter who believes that or not.

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